This is the official blog of Sgt Ellie Bloggs, a real live police sergeant on the front line of England. It's not the official opinion of my police force, but all the facts I recount are true, and are not secrets. If they don't want me blogging about it, they shouldn't do it. PS If you don't pay tax, you don't pay my salary.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Here we go again!

An officer is suing the Met for discrimination. This time it is because he failed security checks to get onto one of the Met's many useful squads (one of which is the little-known Specialist Crime Directorate Econominc and Specialist Crime Extradition and International Assistance Unit - how about that for a snappy name). Apparently it is just because he is a Muslim, although the Met say two of his children attend a mosque connected to extremism. Call me old-fashioned, but I say that there is nothing wrong with attending a place of worship where the clerics advocate terrorism. Just because you know a lot of the congregation and some of the preachers support all that death stuff doesn't mean you do too. The Met are just being prissy: they should think outside the box and take a few risks when it comes to National Security.

Thats whats really galling, is that the news reports suggest he has been treated unfairly in some way! he wasn't removed from the job, he didn't get the job! because of his CTC checks! thats what the checks are for. Its incredible. Are they to be ignored now for the sake of racial and religious harmony?

A former (civvy) collegue of mine, who was in the job for 9 years, but then took a career break is unable to get back in due to having been out of the country travelling for over 12 months, so far she hasn't decided to sue for being victimised, she has accepted that security is necassary and proportionate.

A free parking concession for churchgoers that was described as "discriminatory to other faiths" has been removed by a Devon city council. Two car parks located near churches in Plymouth were free on Sunday mornings.

A £1-an-hour charge has now been brought in as part of an overhaul of parking costs across the city.

A council parking representative responding to a protest letter about the charges, said: "Dispensation is not given to other religions."

They added: "The basis of your representation was rejected on the grounds that the current free parking on a Sunday morning is discriminatory to other faiths and religious praying days."

'Unforgiving'

The Rev Nick McKinnel, rector of one of Plymouth's largest churches, St Andrew's, said: "It does seem extraordinary to invoke other faiths as a reason to charge those who go to church."

He said the council introduced the free parking concession in 1998 in recognition of the contribution churches make to the life of the city.

"For the scrutiny committee now to use other faiths as a way of withdrawing this concession seems pretty shabby.

The sort of spurious reasoning given on behalf of the city council betrays a total lack of understanding of the multi-faith agenda and serves only to divide communities."

Churchgoer Mary Hooker, 66, said: "It is rather unforgiving. I have been going to church for 50 years and I have never had to pay."

A council spokeswoman said the changes had been brought in line with Sunday charges at other car parks around the city.

"This was because it was felt that it was inappropriate to single out two particular churches for special treatment which is not given to anyone else," she said.

The income from all of the city's Sunday charging revisions has been estimated at approximately £144,000.

I can't understand (and I don't think I'm being thick) why the MET didn't do all the necessary checks before this officer was given the go-ahead to transfer in from his original force. I'd hate to think it was all about quotas again. Less haste and all that........Having just read the piece again I thought this PC was moved from the DPG and had come from Wiltshire? This business about the extradition squad must mean there's another one on the go as well. You've got to hand it to the Met - they just can't stop making life difficult for themselves. I read at the weekend that the MPA is also having its fair share of racism claims - one being the Nigerian lady who is suing them because they objected to her buggering off to Nogeria for 8 weeks on sick leave for IVF treatment - apparantly it would have been OK if she'd had 8 weeks off for IVF in the UK. How does anything work anymore. And another today about the immigration tribunal in stoke on trent, which has been suspended when a lawyer representing the plaintiff refused to take off her veil. The chairman is seeking advice from the tribunal president - I bet he was glad to get that phone call. The world's - well the UK - has gorn mad, maaaaad I say!

There's a little more to this than you've represented here, but I guess that wouldn't have gotten across your point as well as you have. The pc in question has two kids both under ten who attended a mosque in which an imam believed to be a radical had on occasion preached, there's no suggestion that he himself attended the mowque nor is there a suggestion that his kids attended the prayers given by the imam, it's guilt by association. Now because the Met have a backlog of CTC checks this pc was left in post for a couple of months until someone somewhere decided that he was a security risk, why he wasn't posted to an unarmed base post until the checks were completed I have no idea. So basically he moved from Wiltshire on the promise of a job that the Met have now taken away from him, in those circumstances I'd be aggreived too. I usually like your posts pc Bloggs even though sometimes I don't recognise the world you live in, sometimes I feel the cynicism and rancour are embellished for public consumption

A difficult one to call without having the entire facts. But where national security is concerned there cannot be any compromise.What would happen to a white christian if our family were concerned with IRA sympathisers or members of some other extreme group like combat 18.

just so you know, the Met have now blocked your site from access at work under the guidleine 'block pornography' which is both annoying and a fcuking irritant as I am on nights this weekend and find amusing blogs keep me from killing myself and the public while i'm in the front office. dunno why its auto blocking as you all the others are still fine, maybe you struck a nerve!!

CO19 pc - I don't embellish anything, nor do I bear any rancour. I mainly just like poking fun at the crazy things in this world. Every situation has two sides, but if people want to read balanced debate they can watch Newsnight or something. The point of my blog is it is uncensored - I have my own take on situations and I am happy to have it pointed out when I am wrong... although being a woman I have the advantage of always being right.

When I qualified as a solicitor, I wasn't allowed to begin working as a solicitor until the Law Society had completed the CRB check on me. Clearly the checks that a police officer undergoes are going to be a LOT more in depth. But, the question remains, why the Met didn't have the sense to postpone this officer's employment until such checks were complete. I understand that he was working for 6-weeks before he was told he had failed the checks!?!?